


Out On The Dance Floor With You

by StellarLibraryLady



Series: Dancing To (And Living By) The Oldies [27]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Boredom, Dancing, Dateless, Declarations Of Love, Developing Relationship, Discovery, Falling In Love, Feels, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Loneliness, Lonely in a crowd, Love, M/M, Misery, Misery Loves Company, POV Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Soft Drinks, Songfic, Stag Line, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-02 08:15:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20680415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellarLibraryLady/pseuds/StellarLibraryLady
Summary: Dancing is a great way to fall in love, or to realize that you already are.





	Out On The Dance Floor With You

Leonard McCoy hadn’t planned to attend the dance that Jim Kirk had scheduled for the crew that night, but Kirk had looked so disappointed when McCoy had hedged about his attendance that McCoy had finally promised that he’d show up just for Kirk’s sake. Kirk had grinned all over himself that McCoy would be there, but McCoy knew what would happen. Kirk would disappear with the first cute woman who flirted with him, and McCoy would be left alone again.

And that’s just exactly what happened.

But McCoy was determined that he was not about to let anyone know how awkward and alone he felt. He decided that he would become the consummate party guest who was thrilled to be in attendance. After all, it simply took a little patience and a lot of bluster to pull off a lot of things in life. He'd just dazzle the world by his presence now and no one would realize the truth.

So McCoy slapped a happy smile on his face and an interested look on his face as if this dance was the social event of the year and he'd been looking forward to it for days. Nothing could be further from the truth, but suddenly it became very important for no one else to realize that. He didn't want anyone's pity. Sometimes a person doesn't like to admit that he's a social nobody and that he's bored to death. He would put on a good face and at least act like he was having a good time.

McCoy tried to remember to turn his head every couple of minutes or so as if he didn't want to miss a thing. Occasionally, he even made himself freeze in place, then jerk as if something had really caught his attention. Once he frowned about what he was "seeing" as if he couldn't quite believe it. Once he got a grin on his face and looked sweetly amused as if he agreed wholeheartedly with what he was observing. And once he turned away then turned back as if he wanted to check again on the progress of what was "happening." Oh, he was good, if he had to say so himself! The evening would just wing away on its own this way. And before he knew it, the band would be playing "Good Night, Ladies," or whatever bands played now to signal the end of the merry festivities.

Except the evening began to feel never ending, and McCoy began to feel like his butt was going to sleep sitting in this chair for so long.

Then he began to feel stupid. What he was doing was what a girl without an escort would do if she was trying not to show how self-conscious she was feeling when alone at a dance. He was a guy, for goodness sake! He should act like a guy! Not a wallflower! And with that, he jumped to his feet and headed for the refreshments. He could grab a soft drink (*sigh*) and join the other guys at the stag line.

Except there wasn't a stag line. Well, not much of one, anyway. Scotty was there for the moment, commiserating on how "soft" the refreshments were while McCoy tried to chuckle along with what he was saying and act like Scotty was entertaining the hell out of him while he forced his eyes to sparkle with an interest that he wasn’t feeling.

Scotty gave McCoy a puzzled look. "Aye, are you feeling alright this evening, Doctor?" he wanted to know. 

"Never better!" McCoy chirped back with that same asinine grin which was beginning to hurt his face. “Why do you ask?”

“Your eyes are looking a little feverish, like they’ve been irritated by a high wind full of dust particles, and I had never realized that you had that many teeth in your head. At least not that many I could see at any one time.”

If it was almost anybody except Scotty, McCoy would lambaste him for being coarse and insensitive, but McCoy knew that there wasn’t a mean bone in Scotty’s body. Montgomery Scott was as sweet as they came, and what he had said had come from a deep concern for McCoy’s welfare. 

“No problems, Scotty. Thanks for asking.”

"I thought that perhaps this strange drink had an adverse effect on you. You know, as in alcohol doesn't hurt you, but this soft stuff goes right to your head?" He gave McCoy a look that begged him to straighten out all of the confusion.

"What? Oh, no," McCoy said with an honest chuckle as he looked down into the contents of his glass. "It's just that I'm feeling slightly out of place around here." He glanced at Scotty. "Know what I mean?"

"Aye," Scotty answered as he rolled his eyes about in his head. "Give me a dire life and death emergency in the engine room any time compared to this, especially if I do not have a date!"

"That does make a difference, doesn't it?" McCoy said, feeling that he at last was with someone with the same plight as his.

"Aye, I have a date, though. She just happens to be late."

"Oh?" McCoy asked, not that he was that interested. He just wanted to keep the conversation going so that Scotty wouldn't leave him standing here all alone. If that happened, then HE would be the stag line. But was it really a stag line if only one person was in it?

"Aye. Nyota. She got tied up at the last minute."

McCoy grinned to himself and thought how the Vulcan would react to a statement like that. Spock would be concerned about Uhura's entanglement and would be organizing a rescue force before Scotty could explain that Uhura was in no danger, only late.

Scotty's face cleared as Uhura walked in the door. "Aye, there is the wee lass now! My, she does look pretty tonight!"

McCoy thought that Uhura looked no different than she generally did at any other time unless she had fallen into a mud puddle or had gotten caught in a high wind or a downpour or, or a hundred other little emergencies that would rob the young lady of her generally well groomed appearance. Then she smiled when she saw Scotty and her face lit up with her pleasure

And she was transformed.

Now McCoy could see what Scotty had been seeing. Uhura's enhanced beauty was coming from inside because she was filled with joy upon seeing Scotty. And Scotty was transformed, also. His joy softened his features and McCoy could see all the way into Scotty's heart. Scotty and Uhura were beautiful in the eyes of love, and it was evident for all to see if they only would take the moment to observe them as McCoy was seeing them now.

McCoy was envious. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at him that way. Wouldn't it be nice if someone smiled at him again that way and made him feel special again?

Jim Kirk smiled at him that way, but Jim Kirk was not in love with him. Jim Kirk made McCoy feel like a special friend, but McCoy wanted a special, special friend. Someone who would be interested in dancing the night away and then be interested in watching the stars from the aft viewing port long after some of the crew was asleep. Someone who would like to cuddle while watching those stars and who would then cuddle the rest of the night after some of the sweetest loving that McCoy had ever known.

"Sorry I'm late," Uhura murmured to Scotty as she pressed herself against his arm in an intimate, but not vulgar way.

To have someone just do THAT again would please McCoy so much! Just to feel that he belonged with someone would be so soothing and so settling. A built in date! That's what they could be for each other! A built in date! And then neither one of them would ever have to worry about going somewhere alone ever again!

"That is alright, lass," Scotty said gently as his eyes sparkled softly. "You are here now."

"I was helping Mr. Spock, and I got him to attend the dance. He wasn't going to at first, but I thought that he shouldn't be alone tonight."

Scotty looked concerned. "A problem with our Mr. Spock?"

Uhura’s soft smile was fetching as she looked fondly at Scotty. "No, of course not. I thought that he needed to socialize more, that's all." She looked around. "Now, wherever has he gotten to? I thought that he was right behind me. Oh, there he is!" she crowed as he entered the door. She waved. "Yoo hoo! Mr. Spock! Over here!"

Spock had almost looked relieved when she got his attention. "So sorry to have not kept up with you, Lieutenant," Spock apologized as he joined their little group. "I got diverted by an ensign with a question."

“That’s alright. You’re here now.” And she gave him such a soft, sweet smile that Spock could do little else than smile back.

McCoy was thunderstruck. Spock could smile?! Without looking like he was leering?! Like he was seeing a steak after not eating one in twenty years?! (Or in Spock’s case, McCoy supposed, it would have to be a mushroom omelet. But somehow, nothing had the impact as a steak-- not even a mushroom omelet.)

Surely Scotty would be jealous! McCoy’s head shot around, but Scotty was giving Uhura and Spock an approving, almost proud, smile. That’s what happens, McCoy supposed further, when you’re quite, quite sure of the person you love.

“Would you like something to drink?” Scotty asked Uhura. “There’s nary a drop of the good stuff in it, though. It’s as soft as a baby’s wee bum. Someone would have to be very determined to get drunk on that stuff, but it would prove that mind over matter does exist.”

“Maybe later,” Uhura answered taking his arm. “Right now, I’d like to dance. I believe this song fits us perfectly,” she said looking up at Scotty. “’Somewhere In The Stars.’ That’s where we are. That’s home to all of us now, isn't it?”

It was really a rhetorical question, but Scotty answered her anyway. “Aye. Terran, or wherever we were from, wouldn’t fit us anymore. Out here, with each other, is where we belong. I know that’s where I want to be, as long as you are here with me, my winsome, sweet lassie.”

“Come on, you poetic Lochinvar, and whisper all of your sweet nothings into my eager ears before you embarrass these good gentlemen. You might get them all stirred up with your romantic notions, and they might not be able to do anything about it.”

“Wonder why she’d ever say something like that?” McCoy muttered as he and Spock watched Scotty and Uhura dance away together, already lost in each others’ eyes.

“You are asking me to interpret something concerning the heart?” Spock asked beside him.

“You’re right,” McCoy answered, blinking himself back to the present. “Guess I was lost in the moment, too,” he muttered.

Then he realized that he and Spock had been left alone with each other. And that they had formed a stag line.

“Come on, let’s get a drink of that punch,” McCoy muttered. Suddenly he didn’t want to be part of a stag line nor did he want to sit down with Spock which would be another stag line of sorts. 

“You mean like the drink you already have in your hand?” Spock inquired.

McCoy glared at the glass as if it was something offensive. “Forgot I had the damn thing,” he muttered.

“It must be a truly memorable punch indeed,” Spock noted wryly, his dark eyes sparkling.

What the hell?! McCoy wondered. Spock making innuendos? Or more surprising: Spock making jokes?!

McCoy’s taking time to ponder these musings must’ve come across as indecision by Spock. “You seem unsure what you wish to do, Doctor,” Spock noted. “Suppose you allow me to select for you?” And with that, Spock took the glass out of McCoy’s hand and set it on a nearby table.

“What?!” McCoy questioned. That’s all he managed to get spoken of what he wanted to say about having his glass removed unceremoniously and re-positioned elsewhere. Then he was suddenly aware that he missed that relocated glass because it had been something to hang onto, to toy with, to roll thoughtfully in his hand. Why, all sorts of activities had been McCoy’s, had been the unattached person’s at an event intended for couples, as long as McCoy had retained possession of that said glass. And now he had lost it quite abruptly. And as stupid as he felt for missing an object that did not realize McCoy’s existence or even its own, McCoy would truly feel like an ass if he rushed forward to regain that errant glass that looked so near and yet so far.

Then Spock came to his rescue. Again. Unbidden. Unsought. Unappreciated, until it happened.

“Shall we dance, Doctor?” Spock asked amiably with an outstretched hand.

What the hell had Spock been experimenting with?! Both he and Uhura were agreeable, mellow, and utterly charming.

Spock must’ve been able to read McCoy’s face like it was an open book. Spock lowered his hand. “Or perhaps you wish merely to watch the dancing?” He sounded disappointed.

That surprised McCoy that Spock was disappointed that his face-saving invitation hadn't been accepted. And suddenly it became important to McCoy that Spock should not be ignored for trying to do something nice for McCoy. “No, no, dancing’s fine,” McCoy affirmed as he took a step toward Spock.

That’s all the encouragement that Spock needed. He took McCoy’s hand and smiled.

But it wasn’t until Spock’s other arm went around McCoy that McCoy remembered what was so great about dancing. Besides the sociability of following music with the swaying of your body, it's also a great way to get your arms around another person. He hadn’t even realized that he would like to be in Spock’s arms until it happened. And now it wasn’t bad to be there. It wasn’t bad at all.

And it was so nice to be in somebody's arms again. McCoy realized that he had been missing touching someone for quite awhile. Oh, he touched people with his doctoring. He knew that he was luckier than most people in that regard. But this touching that was going on now was different. It had nothing to do with his abstract touching of a patient. This, this was personal. And it felt good. Real good.

“Are you finding that this is an agreeable pastime for you, Doctor?”

“What? Oh, yeah, sure.” Of all the stilted ways of asking if he was having a good time, this had to beat all that he had ever heard! He glanced at Spock. Even though there was a pleasant look on his face, he seemed to be watching McCoy closely-- as if it really was important what McCoy was thinking and feeling.

McCoy softened his own face and gave Spock a genuine smile. “It’s a very agreeable pastime, Mr. Spock. I’m happy that you asked me to dance with you.”

“You are?”

McCoy took a closer look at Spock. There seemed to be genuine delight on his face. When had been the last time someone had ever been that delighted with his presence-- not counting his daughter, Jim Kirk, Christine Chapel, and a handful of others in the crew? There seemed to be something almost childish in that delight, and he did not want to lose any of special awe for him or for Spock.

“Yes, I am, Mr. Spock. I’m very happy to be here with you.” And just by saying it, he knew it to be the truth. 

“I am glad.” And Spock sounded it.

“So am I,” McCoy agreed. “So am I.” He felt happy inside and kind of bubbly. Those sensations surprised him, especially the bubbly part. Why, he supposed that he might surprise himself further and feel positively giddy about his present situation.

Spock swayed him around several times as they kept time to the rhythm of the music. It was some sort of pulsating tune that seemed to enter the bloodstream and become part of a person’s system. It wasn’t just some melody that dancers kept time to with their bodies; it became them in body, soul, and spirit.

The good ol’ basic threesome of body, soul and spirit, McCoy thought as he relaxed and just let Spock lead him through the basic box step. It felt so good to relax against Spock and let his sturdiness navigate them through the sea of people around them.

McCoy felt elated and enlivened and free. He’d forgotten how cleansing it was just to relax and let music take over one’s life. To let feeling take over and let responsibilities and cares and worries float away on the air, as he and Spock seemed to be floating away on the strains of the music around them.

And then McCoy remembered another thing that was great about music and becoming a part of it. Dancing returns us to some basic emotions that we may have forgotten that we ever had. Emotions like caring and nurturing and the excitement of waiting to see what the next moment would bring. Because the next moment was going to be exciting, he just knew it was going to be. He knew it because Spock’s eyes were promising it. And McCoy wanted to believe all he was being told. Oh, he wanted to believe so much!

“It will be good, Doctor.”

McCoy grinned. “What will be good?” he wanted to know, wondering if Spock was next going to reveal himself as an astute mind reader.

“All that you are wishing for.”

Intrigued, McCoy’s eyes flicked over Spock’s face. “How do you know that?”

“Because I am wishing for it, too.”

Then McCoy sighed. He felt like a silly school girl, but he sighed. And that was alright, too, because it felt right.

But this was Spock, McCoy reminded himself. Pain in the ass Spock who liked to twist McCoy's words so that McCoy did not even recognize them anymore, let alone remember what point he was trying to make. Nitpicking Spock who could keep after McCoy until he had something more precise than McCoy thought it needed to be. But generally he profited by Spock's insistence on exactness, McCoy had to admit. He just generally hated to admit that Spock was correct or could handle him so expertly.

But Spock wasn't always a pain in the ass, McCoy had to admit, too. McCoy felt mellow as he recalled all sorts of instances in which Spock had been gracious with his comments and had even seemed to support McCoy when McCoy had been sadly lacking in someone to back him up. And there had been times when Spock had even saved him, literally, from dying or at least from being incapacitated for life.

But the best times, McCoy had to admit, were those times when Spock had simply been a companion, someone to talk with, someone to rely on, someone who was always there for him. Now that he thought about all of that, McCoy felt a warm glow go through him. It was friendship, but more than friendship. McCoy did not really know what it was. He simply knew one thing: he never wanted to be without it ever again. Spock's companionship was a part of him that would feel so unnatural to be without.

But this other that he was feeling... just what was it anyway? And did Spock feel it, too? The same way he was?

The only way to find out was to ask. So McCoy did.

“Where have you been all this time?” McCoy wanted to know.

“Right here. Waiting. Just as I know you have been waiting for me.” He gave McCoy a sweet smile. "Is it not wonderful?"

"Wonderful," McCoy murmured. Oh, Sweet Mercy! The Vulcan felt the same way that he did! But how was that even possible?! Spock always claimed that he did not wish to feel emotions. Apparently that was out the window now. And was going to be replaced by a whole lot of interesting stuff that was probably shaping up to be a delight to learn all aboutI.

“So wonderful,” McCoy uttered with another sigh. Then he pressed against Spock’s body and just let the music claim them for awhile. Spock seemed content for them to dance that way, too.

Then he remembered something and pulled his head up. “This experiment that you were doing. And Uhura was helping. Was it something to do with flowers that had a mature pollen that is proving to be a love potent?”

“Hardly.” A humorous look passed over Spock’s face. “Unless you believe that finding further ways to utilize human waste aboard a starship to be romantic.”

McCoy grinned. “Hardly.” He thought a moment. “So this attitude that was influencing you and Uhura when you entered the day room just now was caused by something else and not the bite of the love bug?”

“Neither a mythological creature nor flower pollen is going to receive credit for something that some might consider more prosaic than either of those romantic causes.”

“Then what? The first things you could see were Scotty and me.” He stopped. “Scotty and me? Really?!”

“Well, Mr. Scott for Lt. Uhura. And while the Lieutenant is probably aware of your attributes, I am certain that she was not paying you much attention.”

“And you, ah, were?”

“Most assuredly.” He must be feeling quite clever with himself by the way that he was looking. He was also looking quite pleased with how things were playing out.

Spock wasn't the only one.

McCoy sighed and snuggled his head back on Spock’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me all of this before?”

“You were not ready to hear it, and I was not ready to say it. I did not have the words in me, nor did I know that I would be needing anything like them. Until this evening. When I saw you. And I knew that the words had been in me all along, just waiting for the proper time to speak them,” Spock murmured softly against McCoy’s ear. “And I am quite prepared now to speak of my feelings for you as often as you are willing to listen.”

“I’m not going anywhere for awhile, Vulcan. But, you know,” McCoy said as he pulled up and looked into Spock’s eyes, “I believe that some of the best times I’ve ever had, not a word was spoken.” A dare had replaced gentle thoughts and spoke of blatant activities between lovers.

Would Spock understand what McCoy was saying? He'd never been clever with innuendo before.

But apparently, Spock was having no problem with what McCoy was telling him. Maybe love had opened his ears as well as his heart. Whatever it was, there would be no mix-up with words between them tonight.

Humor sparkled in Spock’s eyes. “All in good time, Leonard. The dance floor is hardly the place for the next logical step in our relationship.”

“I agree.” McCoy put his head back on Spock’s shoulder. “But soon.”

Spock gave him a soft smile that McCoy couldn’t see. “Yes, Leonard. Soon.”

And that’s when McCoy decided that there was another great truth about dancing.

Dancing is a great way to fall in love.

Or to realize that you already are.

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing of Star Trek, its characters, and/or its story lines.


End file.
